Yarn controlling and severing means for knitting machines



y 7, 5 A. E. KAESE ETAL 3,381,501

YARN CONTROLLING AND SEVERING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed NOV. 5,1965 F41. E1 .L fl a7 42 4/ 2 ELSE-E;

7 E1, 25 4 I k TLLE- E.;. 7 37 36 f 7/ United States Patent Office3,381,501 Patented May 7, 1968 3,381,501 YARN CGNTRGLMNG AND SEVERINGMEANu FUR KNITTING MACHINES Arthur E. Kaese, West Lawn, and Henry E.Zondlo, Lincoin Park, Pa, assiguors to Textile Machine Works,

Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filled Nov. 3, 1965, Ser.No. 506,233 3 Claims. (Cl. 66-434) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLUSURE Yarnsevering means for a circular knitting machine including a toothedannulus rotatable with the needle cylinder of the machine, a cuttingelement spaced from the yarn feeding means of the machine andcooperating with the teeth of the annulus, a guard member overlying theteeth of the annulus for preventing the yarn from engaging the teethbetween the feeding means and a position intermediate the feeding meansand the cutting element and means at the intermediate position forwithdrawing the yarn, extending from the first and last needles to knitthe yarn, radially inwardly into a tooth of the annulus adjacent thefirst and last needles to be carried thereby to the cutting element forseverance.

This invention relates to circular knitting machines and moreparticularly to means in such machines for controlling the position ofthe yarns for severance close to the last needle to knit the yarns whenthey are removed from knitting position and close to the first needle toknit the yarns when they are returned to knitting position.

In present circular knitting machines and particularly such machinehaving a plurality of stations for knitting ladies seamless stockings,the yarns employed are introduced into and removed from knitting actionby yarn feeding means and, following both the introduction and removalof each yarn, it is severed close to the fabric. The yarn severing meanscommonly employed is carried on the dial mechanism used for formingturned welts on the stockings, and includes a toothed annulus adapted torotate with the dial and needles of the machine, and a separate cuttingelement cooperating with the teeth of the annulus for severing the yarnsof each station. A suction tube is also associated with the cuttingelement at each station for holding the severed ends of the yarnsextending from the feeding means following their removal from knittingposition and for removing the waste ends of yarns following severancewhen the yarns are again returned to knitting position.

Normally when a yarn is removed from knitting position the yarn iscarried by the last needle to knit it into a tooth of the annulus spacedfrom the trailing the last needle and then as the needle and annuluscontinue to rotate the yarn is carried beneath the suction tube and tothe cutting element Where it is severed between the yarn stitch on thelast needle and the feed finger for the yarn. The end of the yarnextending from the feed finger is thereupon withdrawn into and held inthe suction tube. When the yarn is again returned to knitting position,the yarn is carried by the first needle to knit into a tooth of theannulus which is closely adjacent to the first needle and is thencarried thereby to the cutting element for severance between the suctiontube and yarn stitch on the first needle, following which the waste endof yarn is withdrawn through the suction tube to a collecting point.

In the normal operating position of the dial the distance between theupper surface of the annulus and the stitches on the first and lastneedles, which are held at the level of the throats of the sinkers atthe time the yarn is severed, is such that the ends of yarn extendingfrom the stitch formed by the first needle is approximately one-quarterof an inch in length and the yarn end extending from the stitch formedby the last needles is approximately three-eighth of an inch in length.Main yarn ends of such length are not considered objectionable inasmuchas such main yarn changes are made at only a few spaced points in thestocking. However, where a reinforcing yarn is also incorporated withthe main yarn to form a reinforced portion in the stocking and thereinforcing yarn is severed close to both the first and last needles toknit it in each reinforced course, concentration of the yarn ends of theusual normal length at opposite sides of the reinforcement make anunsightly appearance in the finished stockings and are thereforeobjectionable.

Heretofore in order to reduce the length of the reinforcing yarn ends,the dial mechanism was designed for movement to a lower position inrelationship to the sinkers the dial mechanism remaining in the lowerposition during the knitting of the reinforced area. This reduced thelength of the severed yarn ends adjacent the ingoing side of thereinforcement to approximately one-eighth of an inch. In order to alsoreduce the length of the severed reinforcing yarn ends adjacent theoutgoing side of the reinforcement a finger was provided which was movedin timed relationship to the rotation of the needles to engage the yarn,extending between the last needle to knit the yarn and the feed fingerfor the yarn, and move it to a position in which a portion of the yarnextended radially and inwardly of the last needle to cause this needleto draw the yarn into a tooth of the annulus adjacent there'- to. Whilethe movable finger operated to accurately position the yarn forseverance when the width of the rein forcement remained constant, wherethe reinforcements varied in width it was necessary to provideadditional means for retiming the movement of the finger at intervalswhich not only made the mechanism more complicated and ditficult tocontrol but also greatly added to the cost of the mechanism.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a circularmachine, which may include a dial lowering mechanism for the purposespreviously mentioned, the machine having means to knit both main andreinforcing yarns in a tubular fabric, and means for controlling theposition of the main and reinforcing yarns for severance close to thefirst and last stitches formed of the yarns, which will overcome theabove mentioned and other objections encountered in prior known devices.

Another object of the invention is to provide a circular knittingmachine with means for severing yarns fed to the fabricating means ofthe machine including an annulus rotatable with the fabricating meansand having peripheral teeth into which the yarn is drawn by the firstand last needles and is carried thereby to a cutting element cooperatingwith the teeth of the annulus and spaced from the feeding position ofthe yarns in the direction of rotation of the fabricating means. Themachine also has means for positioning the yarns for severance whichmeans includes a guard member adapted to overlie the teeth of theannulus to prevent engagement of the yarns therein between the feedingposition of the yarns and a position intermediate the yarn feedingposition and the cutting element, and means adjacent the intermediateposition for moving the yarns radially and inwardly of the first andlast needles, to knit the yarns, into a tooth of the annulus adjacentsaid first needle and said last needle.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of theinvention shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention resides inthe novel elements, features of construction and cooperation of parts,as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan View of a portion of a circular knitting machine havingyarn positioning means according to the instant invention incorporatedtherein;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the lineand in the direction of the arrows 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to a portion of FIG. 1 illustrating theoperation of the positioning means when a yarn is to be severed adjacenta first needle to knit the yarn;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating the operation of thepositioning means when a yarn is to be severed adjacent a last needle toknit the yarn; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line and inthe direction of the arrows 5-5 of of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, thereis shown a portion of a circular machine for knitting tubular fabric forladies stockings and the like including a needle cylinder, a portion ofwhich is shown at in FIG. 2, having slots for slidably mounting acircular series of latch needles 11 and sinkers, one of which is shownat 12 in FIG. 5, which are mounted for radial movement relative to theneedles in a conventional manner. The machine is also provided with dialmechanism 15 including a bed member 16 (FIG. 2) having radiallyextending slots 17 for slidably mounting transfer bits 20, an outer camring 21 and cams 22 which are movable between active and inactivepositions, the cam ring and earns acting on butts 23 of the transferbits to move the transfer bits in timed relation to the needles duringformation of turned welt portions of the stockings in a common manner.The outer cam ring 21 and earns 22 are mounted on a stationary dial cap25 which is mounted in the dial housing (not shown) and the bed member16 is secured to one end of a shaft 26 which is mounted in the dialhousing for operation to rotate the bed member and dial bits with theneedle cylinder and needles.

The machine shown, which is adapted for multifeed knitting, is providedwith a main knitting station 27 having guide fingers 30 for feeding bothmain and reinforcing yarns to the needles 11 thereat, and an auxiliarystation 31 having guide fingers 32 for feeding main and reinforcingyarns to the needles at the latter station. The fingers 30 and 32 atstations 27 and 31 are moved between active positions to feed theiryarns to the needles and inactive positions by pattern means (not shown)in a usual manner.

During the knitting of a stocking, the guide fingers 30 and 32 for themain yarns at the main and auxiliary knitting stations 27 and 31,respectively are operated to move the yarns into and out of knittingpositions according to a predetermined sequence in a common manner. Whena main yarn is removed from knitting position, the yarn is severedclosely adjacent to the circle of needles and to the last stitch formedthereby. When the yarn is returned to knitting position it is againsevered close to the circle of needles and to the first stitch to beformed thereby. Also, where a second yarn is to be interknit with themain yarn at one of or at both of the knitting stations in order toreinforce the stocking as in a reinforced sole portion, the second yarnis moved to and remains in knitting position and this yarn is thensevered close to the stitches formed by the first and last needles ineach reinforced course knit at the station or stations.

The yarn severing means shown is the of type generally shown in UnitedStates Patent No. 2,824,436, and includes an annulus 35 havingperipheral teeth 36 which is positioned between the bed member 16 andthe cam ring 21 (FIG. 2). The annulus is provided with means cooperatingwith certain of the transfer bits 20 as set forth in said Patent No.2,824,436 to cause the annulus to rotate with the bed member.Cooperating with the upper edges of the teeth 36 for severing yarns ofthe main station 27 engaged in the teeth is a cutting element 37 (FIGS.1 and 3). A cutting element 40 ,(FIG. 1), similar to the cutting element37, is provided for severing the yarn of the auxiliary station 31engaged in the teeth of the annulus.

Intermediate the guide fingers 30 at station 27 and the cutting element37 is a yarn controlling device 41 including a foot member 42 which issecured to the upper surface of dial cap 25 by screws 45 (FIG. 2). Thefoot member 42 has a lower surface 46 which is spaced above the uppersurface of the cap 25 and which merges with a downwardly extending outerlip 47. The lower surface of the lip is spaced from the upper surface ofthe annulus 35 and the lip extends along an arc slightly beyond andconcentric to the outer periphery of the teeth 36 from a point 56adjacent guide fingers 30 to a point 51 adjacent the cutting element 37(FIGS. 1 and 2). The foot member 42 is apertured to receive the lowerend of a suction tube 52 which is connected to a vacuum pump or the like(not shown) for creating a continuous flow of air between the lip 47 andannulus 35 and between the surface 46 and dial cap 25 and into the openend of the tube for purposes hereinafter set forth. A rib 55 projectingdownwardly from the lower surface 46 of the foot member 42 and extendingfrom an end surface 57 of the foot member to the suction tube 52 acts toseparate the yarns extending from the inactive guide fingers 30 to thesuction tube to prevent the inactive yarns from becoming twisted on eachother. A plate 69 secured to the upper surface of the foot member 42 byone of the screws 45 (FIG. 1) has a pointed tip or end 59 which acts toseparate and hold some of the inactive yarns at one side of the rib 55and to hold others of the inactive yarns at the opposite side of therib.

A yarn controlling device 61 is also provided between the guide fingers32 at station 31 and the cutting element 40, the device 61 beingidentical in structure to the device 41, except that the plate 60 isomitted, with like parts of the two devices having like identifyingreference characters. In the device 61, which controls the yarns of onlythree guide fingers of the station 31, the rib 55 is sufficient toseparate the yarns when their guide fingers are in inactive positionsand the function of the plate is not required.

Normally, when a guide finger is raised from active to inactive positionat one or the other or at both stations 27 and 31 to remove its yarnfrom knitting po sition the yarn is carried by the last needle to knitit into a tooth 36 of the annulus 35 spaced from and trailing the lastneedle. Thereupon, as the needles and annulus are rotated the yarn iscarried by the annulus beneath the foot member 42 and suction tube 52 tothe cutting element associated with the station for severance close tothe stitch on the last needle. The end of the yarn extending from theguide finger is then withdrawn into and held by the suction tube. Whenthe yarn is again returned to knitting position, the yarn is carried bythe first needle into a tooth of the annulus at or closely adjacent tothe first needle and the yarn is then carried by the annulus to thecutting element for severance close to the stitch on the first needleafter which the waste end of yarn is removed by the suction tube to acollecting device. By severing the yarns in this manner the yarn endsextending from the first stitches to be formed are considerably shorterthan the yarn ends extending from the last stitches to be formed. Whilethis difference in length of the yarn ends connected to the first andlast stitches knit with main yarns is not objectionable since main yarnchanges are made at only a few points in the stocking, the longer yarnends extending from the last stitches of the reinforcing yarn in eachreinforcing course are unsightly in appearance and objectionable.

In order to control the position of the yarns for severing so that theyarn ends extending from the first and last stitches to knit the yarnsare of the same length, in accordance with the instant invention, meansis provided at each of the stations for withdrawing both the ingoing andoutgoing yarns into a tooth of the annulus closely adjacent to the firstand last needles respectively. The means provided for this purpose atstation 27 comprises a guard member 65 which is formed integrally withor otherwise secured to the outer cam ring 21. The guard member 65overlies the annulus and has a lip 66 projecting downwardly to cover theteeth 36 of the annulus from an end surface 67 adjacent theguide-fingers 30 to an end surface 70 which is on a substantially radialline extending between the center of the cylinder and the center of theopening of the suction tube 52.

In operation with the yarns of the inactive guide fingers 30 held in thesuction tube 52 as indicated in FIG. 1 and at A in FIG. 3, when one ofthe guide fingers is moved to active position the yarn thereof is takenby the first needle to knit the yarn, indicated at 71 in FIG. 3, and asthe needle 71 is moved through its knitting motion to form its stitch,the yarn is carried in a forward or counterclockwise direction beneaththe foot member 42 and along the lip 66 of the guard member 65 which atthis time acts to hold the yarn out of the teeth 36 of the annulus. Alsoat this-time the suction tube 52 acts to take up slack in the end of theyarn extending from the first needle. When the needle 71 passes thesurface 70 of the guard member the yarn extending therefrom isimmediately withdrawn radially inwardly by the suction tube and intoengagement with a tooth of the annulus. At this time the needle 71 hascompleted its stitch forming movement and the yarn end extends from thestitch formed by the needle 71, which is held at the level of thethroats of the sinkers, into a tooth of the annulus and to the suctiontube, as shown in FIG. 5. The yarn end is then carried by the annulus tothe cutting element 37 for severance.

When the guide finger is again moved to inactive position to remove itsyarn from knitting position, the yarn after being taken by the lastneedle to knit it, indicated at 72 in FIG. 4, is carried beneath thefoot member 42 and along the lip 66 of the guard member 65. As theneedle 72 continues to carry the yarn in the forward direction the airflowing beneath the foot member draws the yarn toward the suction tube52 and the yarn is then drawn radially inwardly into a tooth of theannulus as the needle 72 passes the end surface 70 of the guard member65, the yarn at this time extending along a line B between the finger 30and the needle 72. The yarn is then carried by the annulus to thecutting element 37 for severance and the end of the yarn extending fromthe inactivated guide finger is withdrawn into and held in the suctiontube 52.

When a guide finger 30 for a reinforcing yarn is moved to activeposition at station 27 and then remains in op eration for a plurality ofcourses to form a reinforced portion in the stocking as above set forth,the yarn ends connected to the stitches, formed of the yarn by the firstand last needles to knit the yarn in each course, are controlled andsevered in the same manner as above set forth in connection withsevering of the yarns when moved between active and inactive positions.During this severing of the reinforcing yarn, the yarn moves back andforth across the inactive yarns held by the suction tube as it iscarried to the cutting element 37 by the first and last needles and atthis time the rib 55 acts to hold the reinforcing yarn out of engagementwith the inactive yarns thereby preventing the reinforcing yarn fromtwisting the inactive yarns on each other.

A guard member 75, similar to the guard member 65,

is also provided for controlling engagement of the yarns of the station31 with the teeth 36 of the annulus 35 for severance by the cuttingelement 40, the guard member having a downwardly projecting lip, similarto the lip 66 of the member 65 which covers the teeth 36 of the annulus35 from an end surface 76 adjacent the guide fingers 32 to an endsurface 77 which is on a radial line extending between the center ofcylinder and the center of the opening of the suction tube 52 associatedwith station 31.

It is believed to be obvious from the foregoing description that themechanism of the invention acts to control the positions of the bothingoing and outgoing yarns for severance in a manner to provide yarnends of the same length adjacent the stitches formed by the first andlast needles to knit the yarns. Also Where a yarn is employed toreinforce courses of a stocking fabric and the length of such reinforcedcourses are varied, the mechanism of the invention will always positionthe yarn connected to the stitches formed by first and last needles forseverance in the same manner irrespective of the number of needlesforming the reinforced courses. It will also be obvious that where it isdesired to further reduce the length of the ends of the reinforcingyarns, the mechanism of the invention may be combined with means of thetype disclosed in application Ser. No. 258,741 of Arthur E. Kaese,co-inventor of the instant invention, filed Feb. 15, 1963, Patent No.3,352,307 issued May 24, 1966, for lowering the dial mechanism from itsnormal operating position to a position closer to the sinkers duringformation of the reinforced courses It will be understood that theimprovements specifically shown and described by which the abovedescribed results are obtained can be changed and modified in variousways without departing from the invention herein disclosed andhereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A knitting machine having a rotatable cylinder, a circle of needlesin said cylinder, sinkers cooperating with said needles, means forfeeding yarns to said needles, means for moving said feeding means froman inactive position to an active position to feed said yarns to saidneedles to be knitted thereby into fabric stitches, means Within saidcircle of needles for severing said yarn adjacent the first and lastneedle to knit said yarn, said severing means including an annulusrotatable with said cylinder and having peripheral teeth ext-ending intoclose proximity to said circle of needles and adapted to engage the yarnextending from said first and last needles, and a cutting element spacedfrom said feeding means and cooperating with the teeth of said annulusto sever the yarn engaged therein, in combination with means forcontrolling engagement of said yarn extending from said first and lastneedles with said teeth of said annulus including a guard member havingan outer surface overlying said teeth of said annulus and acting toprevent said yarn from engaging said teeth of said annulus between saidfeeding means and a position intermediate said feeding means and saidcutter element, an end surface on said guard member extending inwardlyfrom said outer surface along a line substantially radial to the centerof said circle of needles and defining said intermediate position andmeans at said intermediate position for withdrawing said yarn inwardlyof said needle circle along said end surface of said guard member toengage said yarn extending from said first and last needles into teethof said annulus adjacent to said first and last needles.

2. In a machine according to claim 1 in which said means for withdrawingsaid yarn inwardly into said teeth of said annulus comprises suctionmeans including a foot member overlying a portion of said teeth of saidannulus and said guard member, and a suction tube connected to said footmember of said radial line inwardly of said end surface on said guardmember, said suction tube being adapted to cause air to flow inwardly ofsaid circle of needles between said foot member and said annulus andalong said end surface of said guard member to withdraw said yarn into atooth of said annulus at said intermediate position.

3. In a knitting machine having a rotatable cylinder, a circle ofneedles in said cylinder, sinkers cooperating with said needles, yarnfeed means including a plurality of fingers for feeding a plurality ofyarns to said needles, means for moving said fingers from inactivepositions to active positions to feed said yarns to said needles to beknitted thereby into fabric stitches, means Within said circle ofneedles for severing said yarns adjacent the first and last needle toknit said yarns, said severing means including an annulus rotatable withsaid cylinder and having peripheral teeth extending into close proximityto said circle of needles and adapted to engage the yarns extending fromsaid first and last needles, and a cutting element spaced from saidfeeding means and cooperating with the teeth of said annulus to severthe yarns engaged therein, in combination with means for controllingcngagement of said yarns extending from said first and last needles withsaid teeth of said annulus including a guard member overlying said teethof said annulus and acting to prevent said yarns from engaging saidteeth of said annulus between said fingers and a position intermediatesaid fingers and said cutter element, means at said intermediateposition for Withdrawing said yarns inwardly of said needle circle toengage said yarns extending from said first and last needles into teethof said annulus adjacent said first and last needles, said last namedmeans including a foot member overlying a portion of said annulus andsaid guard member, and a suction tube connected to said foot member,means on said foot member for separating said yarns of said inactivefingers, and means on said foot member for guiding the yarns of certainof said fingers when moved to inactive position to one side of saidseparating means to be held by said suction tube and for guiding theyarns of others of said fingers When moved to inactive position to theother side of said separating means to be held by said suction tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,222,892 12/1965 Moyer 66-145 X3,224,230 12/1965 Dusik et al. 66145 3,234,761 2/1966 Stahl 661403,252,307 5/1966 Kaese 66-434 FOREIGN PATENTS 593,152 5/1959 Italy.649,228 11/1962 Italy.

W. CARTER REYNOLDS, Primary Examiner.

